We're about to simulate a human brain on a supercomputer The world's most powerful supercomputers can now run simulations of billions of neurons, and researchers hope such models will offer unprecedented insights into how our brains work What would it mean to simulate a human brain? Today's most powerful computing systems now contain enough computational firepower to run simulations of billions of neurons, comparable to the sophistication of real brains. We increasingly understand how these neurons are wired together, too, leading to brain simulations that researchers hope will reveal secrets of brain function that were previously hidden. Researchers have long tried to isolate specific parts of the brain, modelling smaller regions with a computer to explain particular brain functions. But "we have never been able to bring them all together into one place, into one larger brain model where we can check whether these ideas are at all consistent", says Markus Diesmann at the Jülich Research Centre in Germany.

Researchers have created a tool that will make simulations more realistic. A team at the University of California Berkeley used deep reinforcement learning in order to let computer simulations mimic natural human movements. Their tool will allow video game characters to move and animated movie scenes to play out with the fluidity and rhythm of the real world. The recreations of natural movements will make simulations of animals and humans much less clumsy, a report on the new technology said. The feat will even improve scenes that include complex acrobatic feats, such martial arts and break dancing.

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